Bi Amp & Bi Wire Question

[Andy JB]

I'm beginning to upgrade some of my source components eg Roksan K3 CD & Pro-Ject Turntable. Consequently the amps are next in line for review although i do actually enjoy their neutral sound delivery when partnered with a pair of floor standing Ruark Tallisman 2's, its very impressive on all levels in a medium sized room.

Now to the question - my aging Arcam amps are rated at 50w per channel which I have bi-wired and bi-amped ie power amplifier driving bass cones & pre amp powering the tweeters. Does the fact that its bi-amped increase the power rating feed to 100watts due to the two amps, or does it not work like that? My speakers recommend no higher than 100w to drive them so there will either be some room for improvement or I'm already at my max?

I was looking perhaps at something like the Linn LK140 power & Linn Kolektor pre amp rated at 95w per channel into 8ohm speakers as a potential upgrade, by increasing the available power without distortion or clipping at higher listening levels and smoothing things out overall with the new components. Any insights helpful

[Andy JB]

Crackie said:

100watt amps will play louder but only 3dB louder which isn't much. Do you currently feel the need to play the Arcams with the volume maxed ?

No I don't play the Arcam maxed out and they cope very well at reasonably high volumes & I enjoy their sound - perhaps I may leave well alone they seem well built & no reliability issues to date. I guess I was hoping by changing the amps for something more powerful it would reveal more or compliment my new source components without maxing out the existing amp/speakers especially if the amp was operating at its limit. I do understand the points made about marginal increase in db compared to much higher power feeds.